AMIT has recently come from nowhere with his electric 4 Stories ep, now out on his AMAR imprint. Take a second and contemplate his influence over the last decade: it reverberates right through the scene. You can hear it in aspects of the ever-widening Samurai tapestry of artists, in recent names such as Vromm or Dreadmaul, in the Exit sound, the list goes on. Never ending, you could say.
And the actual substance within AMIT’s world, the sights, the sounds that populate it? It’s a pretty addictive tableau – check the ‘Survivor’ video out below as an example – and the 4 Stories is another captivating installment. Time to wander out in it…
The tunes from 4 Stories: they seem to come from backstreets, small towns & cities where things unfold in an inevitable fashion: I get lost in it, so when did the ep start to get written?
It was written over the course of last year; I didn’t set any deadlines.
Are the stories here interwoven with your own experience?
Most definitely, each story or track represents an aspect of my musical journey from a child to now. Each piece is fused with my experiences and influences – excerpts of one man’s journey.
AMIT played at considerable volume is crazy. It’s unbelievable. What’s it like to drop this stuff live? Must be highly satisfying.
It’s great to be able to play your own work out, especially the new pieces. I love that moment of hearing it out for the first time, those first few seconds.
Where are good spots to play?
Good spots to play are Denver, Recon, Boston at Bassics and Sirius in Lithuania.
For those who may not know, who is Rani? She is a constant companion of yours in music.
Rani is a very complicated soul in the most beautiful way. I’m talking about her dark lyrical content and persistence to get things right.
‘Survivor’ took 2 months to write: layer by layer I chipped away at it and I think I must have had about 20 versions of the track. I had a theme or mood in mind for the vocal and once I presented her with the track she responded very quickly. It’s definitely seamless working with her and always full of surprises.
Continuing with 4 Stories, can you take us through ‘Chalvey Town’?
It’s based on an area of Slough that I grew up in. Chalvey is a moody place but yet beautiful in the way it’s influenced me musically.
What has been some highlights of the last decade?
Well in no particular order: releasing two albums, sharing the same stage as Sonic Youth – one of my all time fave bands – scoring a few movies, lots of travelling, switching to different tempos, finding Rani and starting up my label AMAR.
When I think of you, I think of music from eras such as 70s or 80s, maybe in part because of the social aspect of those times and the way music was wrought. What are some tracks you like from time?
Afrika Bambaataa ‘Planet Rock’
Sonic Youth ‘I’m Insane’
Prokofiev ‘Dance of the Knights’
Any Mohammed Rafi Track
King Tubby ‘Badness Dub’
I note some live work with the Samurai clan: are they kindred spirits, with the music and approach?
Geoff Presha is a good friend and has always been fan of my music. I’m doing two Samurai nights this month, one in London at Plan B and one in Berlin.
I think they are definitely influenced by what I’ve done, especially my work around the 85bpm mark or Half Step but I wouldn’t say they are solely based on what I’ve done; I can hear other influences such as Digital for example.
Do you find that more people do a similar thing as you, exploring the outer limits of D&B and related nowadays? People didn’t so much when you came along. Why is that?
When I was breaking through I felt a lot people were breeding within the same bloodlines and perhaps weren’t looking outside of their bpm or box.
This is typical within most genres but I have always been more interested in being inventive rather than worrying about fitting in.
So who inspires you?
Inspiration for me comes from my folks, hard graft, taking risks and making your own. They were immigrants coming into this country, staring with nothing, what bigger influence can you have?
Any parting thoughts?
Look out for the next EP on AMAR: Nomine your time brother.